Tension device for multiple twist type of twister



March 25, 1958 2,827,756

TENSION DEVICE FOR MULTIPLE TWIST TYPE OF TWISTER W, D, KELLOGG ET AL Filed July 9, 195g v INVENTOR$. WILL/AM D. KELLOGG (J06EPH A. TRU/TT United States Patent TENSION DEVICE FOR MULTIPLE TWIST TYPE OF TWISTER Wiliiam D. Keilogg, Villanova, and Joseph A. Truitt,

West Chester, Pa., assignors to American Viscose Gorporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application July 9, 1952, Serial No. 297,826

16 Claims. (Cl. 5758.86)

This invention relates to tension devices for multiple twist types of twisters, particularly for two-for-one uptwisters adapted to tension the thread or yarn proceeding from the stationary package on such twisters into the top or head end of the hollow core of the package on its way to the hollow spindle aligned therewith.

In twisters of the type mentioned, it is already known to provide between the rotating flier and the tension device associated with the package holder, a twist barrier which may also be a tension device for the purpose of preventing insertion of twist directly and immediately into the yarn as it leaves the first tension device. Because the yarn or thread proceeding to the tension device shifts continually about the axis of the tension device, it is possible for the fibers or the filaments to become somewhat disarranged from their normal disposition within the yarn or thread at the point of entry of the yarn into the tension device and this disarrangement, which may involve the looping of one filament or fiber about another in irregular fashion, may be trapped in the yarn at its discharge point from the tension device as the twist imparted by the flier therebeneath is allowed to go back to that first tension device. The result is the production of an irregular yarn which has either an irregularity in twist at various points along its length or even sometimes small tangles or slubs at points along the yarn. These defects tend to become more pronounced and more frequent when operating with a low twist yarn of two or three turns per inch or a so-called flat yarn, i. e., a yarn having no twist, such as an untwisted continuous filament yarn of rayon or other material.

Various systems have heretofore been proposed to avoid these difliculties but the types of devices that can be employed satisfactorily are extremely limited primarily because of the difiiculty of lacing such systems which involve a twist barrier or tension device disposed beneath or behind the normal twisting device and because most twist barriers heretofore known cause broken filaments in the twisted yarn or cord even when low speeds of 5000 R. P. M. are used.

According to the present invention, an improved system is provided for preventing the twist from backing up to the first tension device which is not only simple in construction and highly efl'ective in operation, but is quite easy to lace-up.

Generally, the invention comprises the provision of a tension device comprising a freely movable element controlled gravitationally or magnetically and a freely movable spherical element disposed between the tension device and a twisting flier for preventing the backing up of twist to the tension device. The spherical element of the twist barrier is also controlled gravitationally or magnetically.

In the drawing, which illustrates several embodiments of the invention,

Figure 1 is an axial section through a preferred embodiment in its normal position on a two-for-one type of upv 2,827,756 Patented Mar. 25, 1958 twister, the twister being more or less diagrammatically shown,

Figures 2, 3 and 4 show similar views in section of three modifications, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a magnet.

In Figure l, the uptwister comprises a hollow spindle 3 and a hollow passage 4 which communicates with the radial passage 5 in a flier 6 secured rigidly to the spindle for rotation therewith which rotation may be etfected by the whorl 7. The spindle is rotatably mounted in suitable bearings in a fixed support 8. Spaced bearings 9 and 10 are mounted upon the spindle 3 and support a package holder system comprising a platform 11 and sleeve 12 fitting around the upwardly-extending hub thereof. Any conventional means may be employed for holding the package holder 11 stationary while the spindle and flier are rotated. Such means may involve the provision of an eccentric weight carried by the platform 11 when the axis of the spindle is inclined from the vertical or it may involve cooperating magnets or magnetic means, comprising magnetic elements such as magnets on the platform 11 and fixed magnetic element, such as magnets just outside the orbit of the thread balloon. The magnetic system may be used whether the axis of the spindle is vertical or inclined to it. These systems as well as others that are known may be used and because of their conventional character, they are not shown in the drawmg.

The package 13 shown in dotted outline may be supported on the holder by slipping its core 14 around the annular projections 15, the latter of which may be formed integrally with the sleeve 12. The upper annular projection 15 may be formed integrally on a sleeve 16 the lower end of which is grooved internally to receive a complementary inner annular portion of the sleeve 12.

The tension device is supported at the upper end of the sleeve 16 in substantial alignment with the passage 4 of the hollow spindle. It comprises a cap 17 having a central bore 18 through which the thread or yarn indicated at 19 may pass. The juncture of the bore 18 with the top of the cap 17 is formed as a portion of a spherical surface to provide a seat for the spherical element or ball 20. This ball rests gravitationally or is pulled magnetically against the seat on the cap 17 and provides the first tensioning of the thread proceeding from the package 13 into the passage 18 on its way to the passage 4 of the spindle.

Between the spindle and the tension device, there is provided a twist barrier in the form of a spherical element or ball 21 which bears against a spherical seat formed about a central bore through the non-magnetic ring member 22. The ball 21 is, in this specific embodiment shown, formed of a magnetic material, such as soft iron or steel. It is urged upwardly magnetically by the magnet 23. While the ball 20 may be urged downwardly against its seat by gravitation, particularly when the twister is mounted on a vertical axis, it may also be urged against its seat by a magnet shown at 24, particularly when the twister is mounted upon an axis inclined to the vertical. The yarn is tensioned as it passes between the balls 20 and 21.

The magnets 23 and 24 are held in fixed position within the sleeve 16 and may be spaced apart by a non-magnetic element 25 if desired. An annular fastening element 26 whose outer periphery may be threaded to engage internal threads within the lower end of sleeve 16 serves to retain the ring 22, magnets 23 and 24 and the spacer 25 when used. The element 26 has a central passage or bore which is gently flared to greater diameter in the zone about the ball 21. The inside diameter of the cavity or recess formed by the enlarged portion of the bore is sufficient to allow the ball to be displaced later ally from its normal central position against the seat under the ring 22 sufficiently to permit the passage of a lacing wire for threadingthe yarn through the system. The member .26. is soshaped that. in lacing, the ball 21 moves laterally just sufficiently to permit passag of. the flexible lacing; wire hutnot enough to permit the ball to drop away from the influenceoi the magnet Th magnets 23 and Z4 areprov ded with cen r l bores nd. preferahh the bor s through all of h lementsll 2.4., 2.5,. 2;. ,J nd22. are at the same diameter so as. provide a uniform diame er pass ge from. the ball .21! to he ball 21- When. magnets 23 and/or 24 areused, th sleeve 16 nd ring 15 should beef a. n magne i material: i Y

. Thehalls 2.0 and; 21 m ybe .Qf hes m diameter but, as, urit-i nref rredl hat the ball 21 e. s st lly mal eriu diameter. than h b ll .20- In. perati n, h yarn s drawn. .Qfi he'package Band proceeds around the can -1'.'l,uu ler the hall 21) into. he aligned passages ithin th el ments .fr 'tul 1.7 t .26 and between the hall Zland i se t in o the passag .4,v through p ssa 0f the flie audl hen upwardly t he usual centrallylocated axially aligned guide on its way to a suitable take-up or other operating procedure. The ball 21 acts as a twist barrier and toa certain extent applies tension to the thread or yarn so that anyirregularities introduced y t w g g of th yarn 19 about the axis. of. the spindle as it proceeds under the ball 20- is allowed to disappear in the passage ".fIQmballi 20 to ball 21 before any appreciable twist is inserted by the rotation of the flier 6. The resulting product is highly uniform in twist characteristics throughout its length Fi u e 2 shows a modification. which differs from. Fi ure 1 in that thefirst tension device is placed, partway Within the sleeve 16' wherein it bears upwardly against phe i lyp s underneath. the ring 7 which is clamped in place'between a magnet 24a supported above the ringand a fitting 28 which is supported above the magnet 23, the ring 22 and the fitting 26. The member 28 is bored to form a cup-like receptacle similar to, that within the fitting 2 6 so that the ball 2.0a ,may'be pushed aside by a lacing device such as a wire. While the balls 20a and 21 may be .of the same size, itis. preferred that the ball 21 be smaller in diameter thanfthe upper ball 20a. 7 V V The tension and twist barrier unit ofFigure 2 is, adapted to be, inserted upon the sleeve 12 in Figure l in Place of the tension and .twist' barrier unit shown therein. Operation of the twister with the unit of Figure 2 it. place is similar to that offthe unit of Eigure'l. However, the unit ,of Figure 2, has somewhat, less tendency to trap and retain foreign particles; such as dirt or lint because oi the .disposition of the ball 2 011, beneath its seat. On the other hand, the unit of Figure 1 has the advantage that; in case of vibrations, any tendency Qt ball 20=toliftfromits seat is compensatedby auincreased the spindle axis is inclined from the vertical. As in Figures 1 and 2, when magnets are used, theball *21 and button 29b are of magnetic material and the other parts are of non-magnetic material,

In Figure 4," the first tension ball 20c is followed by two balls 21a and 21b,- each of the balls being of different diameter, 21:; being intermediate in size between the. small ball 21b and-the large ball 20c. .While. gravitation may be relied upon to hold each of the balls in place, magnets may be employed In thisernbodiment,

the magnet 24 is placed beneath the ball'20e with which a it coacts so that a seat is provided in the annular mem ber 170 immediately beneath ball 20c. Also, annular members 30:: and 30b are provided one around each of the lower balls. The inside diameter of ring 36a is somewhat larger than the diameter of ball 21a to permit the ball to be moved aside sufficiently for a flexible lacing' wire to pass by. The ring 30b has a bore whose diameter is somewhat larger than thediameter of ball Zlb o permitthe ball to. be. moved .aside sufiiciently for a. flexible lacing wire to pass on through. Ringfillb ha'sanaunular seat. of. spherical curvature to receive ball 21a and a flared surface. extends from the-seat to the inside. wall of .the borein ring 30a. This flared curvature assures that alacing wire will not be caught at the top ofring 3012 during. lacing operations. A. ring 300 is provided beneath ring 33112. and has a spherical seat tarball 21b joined by a; flared surface to the inside wall of the ring 30b where the latter rests upon ring 380. The several parts are held. in sleeve 16b between the cap, 17c and an externally threaded holding ring 31..

The embodiments ofiPigures 3. and 4' are adapted to replace the unit of Figure 1 and. the operation andlacing up thereofi are quite similar. In all embodiments, the balls andbuttonZllb may be madeof any material desired when they are .to be acted upon gravitationally but when reliance is placedupon a magnet. to urge them toward their seats, they should be. of a paramagnetic material,

such as iron, soft steel, or of iron, cobalt, and nickel alloys. The other partsmay be of. any material when magnetsv are not used, but are preferably of non-magnetic. materials. when magnets. are used.

' Figure 5 shows in perspective oneof the magnets such as, magnet 24 comprising two almost semi-circular segments 4.0 and 41 integrally connected at one end by a bridgingjportijon 42., A central bore. 43' is concentric with the cylindrical surface of the magnet. and extends through the interconnecting web 42... A sleeve 44 of nonemagnetic material, suchas brass, copper, or the like is fixed Within the. bore 43. and. extends the full depth or height ofj-the. magnet. 1 This sleeve. prevents a. lacing i f m. being deflected. laterally into the transverse slot or groove 45.1 and assures that, the wire continues tendency of theball 21 to, stay upon its seat whereas a angles abrading the yarn. The conical portion 200 ex,

tends into a substantially complementarily shaped recess formed concentrically within the cap. 17b. The element 20!) is adapted to nutate within the recess in cap. 17b

as the yarn passes under its. surfaces into, thebores. of

theelements 17b, 24, 25, 23, 22, and .26, While gravitation may; be relied; upon. to holdthe. button 20b in place, the magnet 24 is preferably used, especially when ifjdesired.

The systems of the present invention. are readily laccdf and permit high speed operation of the twister, such as frorn'7,000 to 10,000 or moreR. P. M., without causing broken filaments,

be made withoutdeparting from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended-claims.

I We claim: V a

l. A twister comprising a hollow rotatable spindle and a flier secured thereto for rotation therewith, a package holder supported: on the. spindle in a manner to allow IQht VQmta iQn thcrcbelween, a, hollow sleeve mounted on the package holder concentrically with respect" to the spindleand projecting ,endwiseffrom the spindle, a plurality of annular members supported within the sleeve in fi fid. positions, at leastwthrce ofsaid members having -itis to be understood that changes and variations may 2. A twister as defined in in which each of i the spherical elements is of progressively smaller diameter than the first in a direction toward the flier.

3. A twister as defined in claim 2 comprising magnetic means for urging the spherical elements against the seats in the annular members.

4. A twister as defined in claim 3 comprising additional annular members, one positioned adjacent each of the aforesaid annular members and having a recess of substantially larger volume than the associated spherical element and arranged to retain the spherical element in position while allowing the spherical element to be displaced laterally from its normal position against its seat for lacing urposes.

5. A twister comprising a hollow rotatable spindle and a flier secured thereto for rotation therewith, a package holder supported on the spindle in a manner to allow relative rotation therebetween, tension means supported on the package holder above the hollow spindle, and a twist barrier between the tension means and the hollow spindle comprising a freely movable element, an annular member having a seat of complementary shape to the element against which the element is adapted to be urged, the seat for the movable element being formed on that sunfacc of the annular JCITliJCI which is closest to the flier, and magnetic means positioned on the other side of the annular member for urging the movable element against the seat.

6. A twister as defined in claim 5 in which the movable element is a spherical ball.

7. A twister as defined in claim 5 in which the tension device comprises a spherical ball and an annular member having a spherically surfaced seat against which the ball is urged, and the movable element of the twist barrier is a spherical ball of less diameter than that of the tension device.

8. A twister comprising a hollow rotatable spindle and a flier secured thereto for rotation therewith, a package holder supported on the spindle in a manner to allow relative rotation therebetween, tension means supported on the package holder above the hollow spindle and comprising a spherical ball and an annular member pro vided with a spherically shaped seat for the ball, and a twist barrier between the tension means and the hollow spindle, said twist banier comprising a ball and an annular member having a spherically shaped seat for the ball, each of the balls being disposed between the flier and its respective annular member, and magnetic means for urging the balls against the seats in the annular members.

9. A twister as defined in claim 8 in which the magnetic means comprise magnets having a cylindrical periphery mounted concentrically with respect to the axis of the spindle and said magnets have a central bore concentric with the axis of the spindle.

10. A twister as defined in claim 9 in which the ball of the twist barrier is smaller in diameter than that of the tension device.

11. A twister comprising a hollow rotatable spindle and a flier secured thereto for rotation therewith, a package holder supported on the spindle in a manner to allow relative rotation therebetween, a tensioning device supported on the package holder above the hollow spindle comprising an annular member and a movable element adjacent said annular member, a seating sunface on said annular member, and a twist barrier between the tensioning device and the hollow spindle comprising a second annular member and a movable element adjacent said second annular member, a seating surface on said second annular member, the first of the movable elements having a frusto-conical surface adapted to engage with its seating surface and the other of said movable elements being a spherical ball, and means for urging each movable element against its respective seating surface, the seating surface of the second annular member being on the side opposite to the side of the first annular member occupied by its seating surface.

12. In a double twist spindle having a rotatable shaft with an axial bore through winch the yarn passes and a yarn package support journaled on said shaft in a manner to allow relative rotation therebetween, a multistage ya-rn tensioning and twist arresting mechanism comprising a series of balls adapted to seat in any position and cooperating annular members forming seats for said balls;said annular members being disposed above and in vertical alignment with said shaft, a permanent magnet cooperating with the lowermost of said balls for magnetically holding the same against its seat, said yam being adapted to pass in succession between the successive balls and their respective seats as it feeds from said yarn package to said rotatable shaft.

13. In a textile yarn double twister having a rotatable shaft with an axial bore through which the yarn passes and a yarn package support journaled on said shaft in a manner to allow relative rotation therebetween, the improvement which comprises a multi-stage yarn tensioning and twist arresting mechanism having a series of balls, cooperating annular seats for said balls, said seats being disposed above and in vertical alignment with said shaft, a magnet positioned to attract the lowermost of said balls against its seat, said yarn being adapted to pass between the successive balls and their respective seats in feeding from the yarn package through the rotatable shaft.

14. In a textile yarn double twister having a rotatable shaft with an axial bore through which the yarn passes and a yarn package support journaled on said shaft in a manner to allow relative rotation therebetween, the improvement which comprises a multi-stage yarn tensioning and twist arresting mechanism having a series of balls, cooperating annular seats for said balls, said seats being disposed above and in vertical alignment with said shaft, a magnet positioned to attract at least one of said balls against its seat, said yarn being adapted to pass between the successive balls and their respective seats in feeding from the yarn package through the rotatable shaft.

15. In a textile yarn double twister having a rotatable shaft with an axial bore through which the yarn passes and a yarn package support journaled on said shaft in a manner to allow relative rotation therebetween, the improvement which comprises a multi-stage yarn tensioning and twist arresting mechanism having a series of movable elements, cooperating annular seats for said movable elements, said seats being disposed above and in vertical alignment with said shaft, a magnet positioned to attract the lowermost of said movable elements against its seat, said yarn being adapted to pass between the successive movable elements and their respective seats in feeding from the yarn package through the rotatable shaft.

16. In a textile yarn double twister having a rotatable shaft with an axial bore through which the yarn passes and a yarn package support journaled on said shaft in a manner to allow relative rotation therebetween, the improvement which comprises a multi-stage yarn tensioning and twist arresting mechanism having a series of movable elements, cooperating annular seats for said movable elements, said seats being disposed above and in vertical alignment with said shaft, a magnet positioned to attract at least one of said movable elements against its seat, said yarn being adapted to pass between the successive movable elements and their respective seats in feeding from the yarn package through the rotatable shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,826,354 Lenk Oct. 6, 1931 2,445,721 Bartholomew July 20, 1948 2,492,778 Agresti et a1 Dec. 27, 1949 2,590,372 Bley Mar. 25, 1952 

